Flare holder



June 22, 1943. A. T. BOVIO FLARE HOLDER Filed .Oct; 26, 1940 a T a a w fl INVENTOR.

.4 T TOE/V6 V Patented June 22, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Albert T. Bovio, Beverl vania Electric Produ Massachusetts y, Mass, assignorto Sylcts Inc.,' a corporation of Application October 26, 1940, Serial No. 363,000 Claims. (01. 49-14 This invention relates to stem machines used in the manufacture of electric lamps, and. more particularly to the seating of the flare on the stem machine.

An object of this invention is to obtain a holder for the flares which will hold them in their proper position.

Another object is to obtain flares which will protect the contour of theflare while the stem is being made.

A further object is to provide a holder for the flares which will insure a proper alignment of the exhaust tubing which is ealed to the flare at the stem machine.

Further objects, advantages and features will be apparent from the specifications which follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a side perspective viewed from above showing the jaw assembly;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view shown partly in section;

Figure 3 is a detail of the jaw bafiie.

Figure 4 is a top view of the jaw.

Similar reference characters refer to similar a holder for the I parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

One of the most difficult problems in the manufacture of stems for electric lamps has been the proper alignment of the flare and the exhaust tube. This problem has become even more acute in the manufacture of short stems such as shown in Fig. 2, generally used for fluorescent lamps. On most stem machines the flares are mounted on a square seat as in U. S. Patent 1,655,141, issued January 3, 1928, to J. T. Fagan et al., wherein the flare is held by the flare chuck shown in Figure 5 of said patent and described on page 2 of the specification of said patent. This and similar types of flare holders have the great disadvantage of not holding the flare securely in position. The vibration and indexing of the machine tend to disturb the position of the flare sufficiently to move it out of its proper position. When this happens, the exhaust tube being sealed into the flare will also be thrown out of alignment.

In my invention, I replace the jaws of the flare chuck of the above patent, which meet to form an open square, by jaws which meet to form a cup-like holder which will securely retain the flare therein during its cycle about the stem machine. It will retain the flare in a fixed position during the various operations of the machine and thus insure a properly aligned flare and exhaust tube.

It will be understood, of course, that I have referred to the above patent merely by way of example, and my invention is applicable to any machine in which a lamp flare or the like is held 7 between jaws of a chuck.

In Figure l, the jaw arms I and I pivot about the studs 2 and 2'. Thecup-like holder of my invention consists of two separate jaws 3 and 4, attached to the ends of the jaw arms I and I. When these jaws abut each other they form a truncated cone l3 in which the flare I5 is held. The jaws are under-cut at the top to provide a gripping groove H! which will hold the flare. I5 in position. The top of that portion of the jaws which abut each other may be milled out to provide the slots 5 to permit the proper seating of a flare in which the rim of the flare is not perfectly round. If a flare were not perfectly round it would not fit properly in the truncated cone l3 unless slots similar to those on these jaws 3 and 4 were provided.

The hole M in the bottom of this flare holder through which the throat ID of the flare I5 passes is substantially elliptical to provide for variations in the contour of the flare I 5 at or near the point where the throat H) of the flare meets the flared portion ll. Many times the throat of the flare may not be at the point Where it joins the flared portion. In such cases the flare would not rest evenly in the flare holder but would have considerable pressure exerted on it by the ends of the the jaws if this lower extremity were perfectly round.

Due to the fact that the hole I 4 in the lower portion of the flare holder is substantially e1- liptical and that the throat Ill which extends therethrough is substantially round, it is apparent that certain parts of the flared portion ll of the flare l5 may very well become directly exposed to the heat from the flames playing on the throat of the flare. To protect against the softening or melting of the flared portion of the flare thus exposed, I have provided the shield 6 attached to the rear of the jaw 3 by bolt l6, Figure 2, extending through opening I! of shield 6.

If flares of slightly larger or smaller diameters should be used, an adjustment therefor may be made through the screw 1 in the side of the jaw 4. This screw extends through the jaw 4 and thus may be used to separate the rearward extension of jaw 3 from the rearward extension of jaw 4. This adjustment is made when a group of flares of a known increased or decreased diameter are to lower portion of of the jaw holder perfectly round be used. However, some flares of apparently the same diameter may be slightly larger or the throat thereof may be slightly larger. In this case, the spring 8, as shown in Figure 2, will take care of these variations. The ends of this spring are attached to the studs 9 projecting from the forward extremity of the jaw arms I and l.

Figure 2 shows how the flare I5 is seated in the flare holder. As may be seen in this figure, the throat ll] of the flare extends down through the elliptical hole l4 and the flared portion ll rests on the walls of the truncated cone 13 formed by the abutted jaws 3 and 4. The exhaust tube I2 is held in the position as shown in. order that it might be sealed into the flare. Figure 2 shows more clearly how the shield 6 protects the flared portion H from the heat of the flames which play on the lower part of the throat I0.

What I claim is:

1. A holder for flares of electric lamps comprising: a pair of jaws which, when abutting each other, form a truncated cone in which the flare is held, and a shield located beneath said holder and attached to the bottom of one of the jaws thereof.

2. A flare holder for a, machine for making stems for electric lamps comprising a pair of jaws which, when abutting each other, form a truncated cone in which the flare is held, the

bottom of said cone having a substantially elliptical opening therein; beneath said holder and protecting said flare during its cycle about said stem machine.

3. A flare holder for a machine for making stems for electric lamps comprising: a pair of jaws which, when abutting each other, form a truncated cone in which the flare is held the bottom of said cone having a substantially elliptical opening therein; a shield located beneath said holder and protecting said flare during its cycle about said stem machine; an adjusting screw projecting through the side of one of said jaws and in contact with the other of said jaws; and an adjustment spring suspended beneath said jaws to hold said jaws in substantially abutting relationship to each other.

4. A holder for flares of electric lamps, said holder comprising a pair of jaws which, when abutting each other, form a truncated cone in which the flare is held, the bottom of said cone having a substantially elliptical opening therein.

5. A holder for flares of electric lamps, said holder comprising a pair of separable jaws which, when abutting each other form a truncated cone having a circumferential groove on its interior, the bottom of said cone having a substantially elliptical opening therein.

ALBERT T. BOVIO.

and a shield located 

